Moonshots and Reality

Google[x]—the semi-secret “moonshot factory” for new technology that sounds like science fiction—has gradually been opening itself up and making contact with the real world. And this, as Astro Teller will tell you, is the hardest part of the innovation process—the part where you come into contact with the realities of weather, physics, humanity, and much much more whose impact on your work won’t be predicted by a book or taught in school. These unexpected and unforgiving elements stand between you and the moment when your invention or company has made something in the world fundamentally different and (hopefully!) better. And they are what’s going to teach you and test you and carry you to the right answer (eventually!). You have to experience what it’s like to try something, fail, learn, and try again...relentlessly, dispassionately, creatively. Astro will share never-before-heard stories—and hard-earned lessons—from Project Loon, the self-driving car, and more.